Whiffletree-bearing.



L. H. SOENS.

WHIPPLETRBE BEARING.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 7, 1911.-

1,024,037. V Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

- Sme/nto@ UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.

LOUIS HENRY SOENS, OF MANCOS, COLORADO.

WHIFFLETREE-BEARING.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, LOUIS I-I. SoENs, acitizen of the United States, residing at Mancos, in the county ofMontezuma and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Vhiifletree- Bearings; and I do declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

This'invention relates to carriages and wagons, and more especially towhittletrees; and the object of the same is to produce an improved formof whiifletree bearing to be placed between the whiiiletrees and tonguein the case of a two-horse vehicle or between the whiiietrees and across bar within the shafts in the case of a one-horse vehicle.

It is well known that considerable strain is thrown upon the whiflietreeat the point where it is pivoted on either the tongue or the cross bar.As a result manufacturers and makers of vehicles have applied wearplates to the top of the tongue or cross bar and to the bottom of thewhiiiletree at this point and have pivoted the plates together, and anumber of constructions have been adopted in an effort to secure a neatpivot and retain the greatest strength of all parts. The commonexpedient is to have some part ofthe up-per plate engaged beneath somepart of the lower to the rear of the pivotal point, from which itfollows that the two plates must be inter-engaged when they are put intoposition and hence the parts which are swiveled upon each other cannotfit as closely as if this inter-engagement were not required.

My present invention avoids the diiiiculty and still uses aIthrough-bolt for pivotally connecting the cross bar or tongue with thewhiffletree and the two plates with each other, and it possesses detailsof advantage which will be understood from the construction set forth inthe following specification and claim, and shown in the drawingswherein- Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section through thisimproved bearing with all parts connected and in place; Fig. 2 is a planview of the metal parts, showing their relative positions; Figs. 3 and 4are perspective details respectively of the upper member and the lowermember.

In the drawings the numeral 1 designates Specication of Letters Patent.

Application led August 7, 1911.

Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

seran No. 642,660.

in the present instance the tongue of a twohorse vehicle, although insome instances it may designate the cross bar of a pair of shafts, and 2is the lower plate secured upon said tongue by means of bolts 3 passingthrough the latter. Said plate extends longitudinally of the tongue asillustrated and is therefore flat upon its lower face, while its upperface is also fiat throughout except for a raised front end forming a lip4L, and a raised tubular boss 5 near the rear end of the plate.

The numeral 6 designates the upper plate which is made somewhat widerthan the lower plate and is rounded at its front edge as shown in 7 andaround this edge is provided with a depending flange 8 adapted to passover and inclose the lip 4 which rests against the under face of thisportion of the upper plate as seen. Somewhat farther to the rear thebody of this plate is dropped so as to produce a transverse groove 9bounded by front and rear parallel shoulders 10 and 11, and in thisgroove lies the whiffletree 12. At the center of the dropped portion isa hole 13 which surrounds the boss 5 and holds the two plates inrelative lateral position, while the dropped portion of the top platerests upon the bottom plate around said boss and holds the former uponthe latter. The pivot bolt 15 extends vertically through the tongue 1,the center of the boss, the whitiietree 12, and the hammer strap 16whose front end 17 engages said bolt l5 just beneath its head 18, therear end of this vstrap being connected with the tongue in the usualmanner. 'Ihe whiffletree is held within the groove 9 of the top plate bymeans of two 'clips 19 whose arms pass through holes 20 in this plate ateither side of its shoulders 10 and 11, and receive nuts below the topplate and at either side of the bottom plate in a manner which will beclear from the drawings.

Thus it will be seen that I have constructed a Whiffletree bearingcomprising two members whereof the lowermost lies upon and is bolted tothe tongue (or in some instances to the cross bar within ai pair ofshafts) and has its front end extended into a lip; and the uppermostlies upon the lowermost and has its front edge turned down into a flangearound said lip so as to prevent the entrance of dirt into the spacebetween these plates as indicated in the sectional view, and which maywell be lilled with packing to retain oil and cause the two plates towork easily one over the other. Lateral. movements are prevented by theengagement of the edges of the hole 13 around the sides of the boss 5,and lateral movements of the whi'l'letree 12 within the groove 9 areprevented by the clips which, however, do not pierce the whitlletree andthus do not weaken it. Yet I am unable to use the pivot bolt l5 withoutunduly weakening the parts, and the hammer strap 16 and its connectionwith the upper end of the pivot bolt prevents the whiflietree from beingturned over forward under the strain of the draft. This movement is alsofurther prevented by the fact that the front end of the upper platerests upon the lip at the front end of the lower plate at a point somelittle distance forward of the pivot bolt l5. If any of the parts needattention, they can be easily separated for inspection or repair. Thesizes, proportions, and materials are not essential to the successfuloperation of this invention.

What is claimed as new is -In a whiilletree bearing, the combinationfrom its front end, an upper plate whose front edge is rounded andprovided with a depending shoulder passing over said lip and whose bodyhas a transverse whiflletree groove in its upper face with a centralhole surrounding said boss while its lower face rests upon the lowerplate around the same, the pivot bolt passing through both plates andthe tongue and whitlietree, the hammer strap engaging the upper end ofthis bolt and connected with the tongue, and clips passing over saidwhiffletree and with their arms taking through the upper plate for wardand backward of its groove respectively and at either side of the lowerplate, the whole for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

LOUIS HENRY SOENS. Vitnesses EDw. E. I-IUMIsToN, N. B. WILSON, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of :Patents- Washngton, 1D. C.

